Recent movie playlist

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The Pool - this is a korean movie, on shudder, guess it's from 2018. this is one of the most stressful movies i've ever seen. holy fuck once it kicks in, it doesn't let up. it also has somehow the darkest and happiest ending possible. a pretty fun ride, if you like being stressed out haha.

Get Duked! - wow is this one dumb as fuck. i had heard it was amusing and an entertaining horror comedy. it isn't. except for maybe one of the last scenes. it's just fucking dumb, and not good dumb. do not watch.

Tesla - ethan hawke plays the titular character, kyle maclachlan plays edison. had been wanting to see this and it just hit hulu so checked it out. i'm a huge tesla nerd and expected a good biopic. it is not either. i don't really know what this is. it's absurd in every sense of the word, featuring things like edison looking at his cell phone and tesla singing tears for fears, and has very little to do with any actual story of tesla. i don't know why this exists. this subject matter deserves a great film. this isn't it.

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2001: A Space Odyssey - Timeless masterpiece.

A Gray State - doc on David Crowley. presents a full timeline of events surrounding the film and eventual murders, as accurate as evidence and interviews allow. does not discuss any conspiracy theories, thus feels very incomplete and dissatisfying. obviously a tragic story, but i think it's not as simple as it's made out to be by A&E here.

Crazy, Not Insane - ginormous piece of steaming shit. anti-death penalty propaganda film made in an infuriating way, and sold as an interesting neurological study of the criminal mind. this dunce compares executing mentally ill criminals to the salem witch trials. do not watch.

[_Marcus_]

A Gray State - doc on David Crowley. presents a full timeline of events surrounding the film and eventual murders, as accurate as evidence and interviews allow. does not discuss any conspiracy theories, thus feels very incomplete and dissatisfying. obviously a tragic story, but i think it's not as simple as it's made out to be by A&E here.

I watched this too and was sort of relieved that they didn't delve into the conspiracy bullshit. Still not a great docu though. It was painfully obvious he was suffering from PTSD after his second trip to Afghanistan and that would have been a much more interesting documentary if they would have just explored it.

[TC]

we are on an old movie kick lately with HBO max...

Seance On A Wet Afternoon - had never heard of this, picked it because the name was amusing. turns out it's really fucking good. wasn't sure they were going to pull it together for an ending but they sure did.

The Seventh Veil - i wasn't sure what this was either, but seemed good on paper. it was quite enjoyable. was blown away that this girl was clearly playing some incredible concertos on piano for this, or at least very, very, closely mimicking to the point where she might as well be playing. i'm going with the idea that she was playing it. very impressive piano work. the ending was lame, but again, quite enjoyable.

Nothing Sacred - i guess this was supposed to be a comedy? there were some things that elicited a chuckle, but overall this was just a bunch of nonsensical yelling.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) - don't think i ever saw the original. not sure if i even knew hitchcock made the same film twice. so we checked it out. the great peter lorre was a treat. the rest of it was only ok for me. was certainly way more experimental. there were parts where the audio was clearly overdubbed, which was distracting. the orchestra scene was pretty great. wanted to watch the remake to compare, but it's not streaming anywhere.

more older movies soon.

Underwater - kristen stewart does her best eminem impression and battles cthulhu and some of his minions. was actually better than i expected it to be, which isn't saying much. movie starts with her wearing glasses, but then when she loses them pretty much immediately, she's still able to function, read computer screens, etc. as a glasses-wearer, fuck you. are we supposed to believe she only needs glasses when she's brushing her teeth? anyway, lots of nonsense in this, but some cool effects. TJ miller was actually pretty subdued for him and as a result has some great lines, but of course they kill him first. and the ending was ludicrous. shrug.

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The Undoing - not sure how many episodes this will have, but given last night's was #4, i assume we're probably halfway through this show. i'm really digging it. it's engrossing and very well-acted. it's yet another show where the central plot is nicole kidman is cheated on. yes, it sounds like the exact same thing as the outstanding Big Little Lies, but this is entirely her and not a gaggle of other stories too. i know it's based on a book, and that's why i'm staying away from online stuff - since the "people that read the book" faction seem to always really enjoy spoiling things for people that haven't - so i don't know where this is going, but i suspect somewhere pretty fucked up. here's my guess: her father (donald sutherland) killed the big-titted naked chick. he commissioned her to do that painting of his daughter. he called her the night of the fund raiser and demanded to see it, which is why she went to the studio to begin with. maybe he even somehow offered her money, pushed her, to get hugh grant to cheat on nicole, to get his daughter to get away from this guy he knows is a piece of shit and really seems to hate. i don't know exactly, but i feel like donald is ultimately going to be responsible for this.

well, they got me. i didn't see that happening. really well-done show.

[TC]

The Undoing - not sure how many episodes this will have, but given last night's was #4, i assume we're probably halfway through this show. i'm really digging it. it's engrossing and very well-acted. it's yet another show where the central plot is nicole kidman is cheated on. yes, it sounds like the exact same thing as the outstanding Big Little Lies, but this is entirely her and not a gaggle of other stories too. i know it's based on a book, and that's why i'm staying away from online stuff - since the "people that read the book" faction seem to always really enjoy spoiling things for people that haven't - so i don't know where this is going, but i suspect somewhere pretty fucked up. here's my guess: her father (donald sutherland) killed the big-titted naked chick. he commissioned her to do that painting of his daughter. he called her the night of the fund raiser and demanded to see it, which is why she went to the studio to begin with. maybe he even somehow offered her money, pushed her, to get hugh grant to cheat on nicole, to get his daughter to get away from this guy he knows is a piece of shit and really seems to hate. i don't know exactly, but i feel like donald is ultimately going to be responsible for this.

well, they got me. i didn't see that happening. really well-done show.

also, forgot to mention - boy does this show love its tilt shift photography. holy shit, every episode there's some insert shots with tilt shift. we get it, you found a new lens.

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Unbelievable - netflix limited series based on a true story. came out last year, not sure how i missed it - has several alum from Justified, Zoey from Nurse Jackie, and is generally well-cast and performed. really enjoyed it, glad it ended well for the girl in seattle, although taking the initial offer was crazy. that city should still be paying her.

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2010 - boy is this movie just not good. roy scheider just hams it up the whole way, especially in the voice-over parts. those are almost unbearable. the movie is full of bad science (compared to 2001), and it gets overly preachy out of nowhere. i remembered not liking it, but i really don't like it now. watching it in close proximity to 2001 was a bad idea.

[darkness]

I actually like 2010. Yeah, Scheider is, well, Scheider and pretty preachy a lot. But otherwise the story is solid. Watching it next to 2001 is a huge mistake though. That'd be like hanging one of my friend's paintings they've given me on my wall next to a Rembrandt. Take them for what each is, don't try to compare.

[TC]

i've heard everyone talking about it, saying it's like a star wars western, which sounds kind of great, but i just can't muster up the excitement for it enough to sign up for another service. especially after that last film, ugh. they burned me on star wars in its entirety.

Murder On Middle Beach - really great docu-series made by the son of a murder victim, about his experiences/mom/family. it's quick, only four episodes, but really well done. ending is infuriating as it's an ongoing investigation so no resolution, but some weird shit happening in this case.

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The Swerve - this is a dark fucking movie. stars a girl that looks a whole lot like the older sister from sneaky pete but apparently isn't. did not think the ending is where it was going. just fantastic acting, powerful, and as i said dark as fuck. watch it.

Castle Freak (2020) - i figured this would be terrible - like we need a remake of this, of all films. i was wrong. i thought it was great. way more lovecraftian in its leanings, and the mid-credits scene ties their worlds together and promises more. no, it's not a perfect film. there are certainly oddly conspicuous hole in the writing, like maybe entire parts were cut out, and i don't think the writers understand cocaine, but the changes they made from the original work better for the story imo. the lack of a daughter figure helps them to really focus. some great effects scenes. and as much as re-animator is one of the best 80s horror films ever, top 3-4 and nigh-perfect, i do hope they continue with this "universe" and make more lovecraftian stories the right way. i need more proper lovecraft films in my world and this team has shown here that they get it and we'd be in good hands.

[TC]

The Invisible Man [2020] - boy does this movie have problems. i like elisabeth moss. she's great. i enjoy her acting. but everything else in this movie is not good. sorry, there are a couple good throat-slicing scenes, that's about it. why does no one wonder how the dog is still alive after two months? sure, he swapped her birth control with something else, but they say she's a month pregnant after she's been out of the house for more than two months and no one questions this, and it's never addressed. i could go on and on. and that ending - her cop friend basically says, "Yep, I guess you're a murderer. Have a nice night," and lets her walk away with the murder cloak. ugh, so fucking dumb. do not watch.

[TC]

The Ripper - netflix docuseries about the late '70s-early '80s serial killer in england. the first 3 episodes are pretty well done and engrossing as you start to see how much differently either investigations of this type were handled back then or how much differently investigations of this type were/are handled in england. the last episode, however, really skims over some of the details, dropping huge statements as an afterthought with no follow-up. so, while informative, the last episode was irritating. it led to googling to see what actually happened.

Ted Lasso - new ipad came with a year of free AppleTV+, so starting to check out some of their content. started with this, as i really like sudeikis. only four episodes in so far and it's been great! lots of big laughs every episode. i also know nothing about soccer, nor do i care, and this show doesn't spend much time at all dealing with the actual sport, thankfully. so don't be deceived by the marketing, it's not a soccer show. it's a bit fish-out-of-water, but mostly a good-guy-at-heart-amid-a-bunch-of-narcissistic-assholes type of show. you love him, you root for him, and enjoy his endless positivity. i don't know how many people even have AppleTV+, but if you do, definitely check out this series. i hope the remaining episodes stick the landing.

[TC]

Ted Lasso - new ipad came with a year of free AppleTV+, so starting to check out some of their content. started with this, as i really like sudeikis. only four episodes in so far and it's been great! lots of big laughs every episode. i also know nothing about soccer, nor do i care, and this show doesn't spend much time at all dealing with the actual sport, thankfully. so don't be deceived by the marketing, it's not a soccer show. it's a bit fish-out-of-water, but mostly a good-guy-at-heart-amid-a-bunch-of-narcissistic-assholes type of show. you love him, you root for him, and enjoy his endless positivity. i don't know how many people even have AppleTV+, but if you do, definitely check out this series. i hope the remaining episodes stick the landing.

this got less funny pretty quickly. not not funny, just, now that all the characters were introduced, it was time for some drama. it picked up toward the end of the 10-episode run, and ended setting up s2. i read some interviews, it's already been renewed for two more seasons, and the creators say it's a finite three-season series. said the only way it would have more is if they filmed jason coaching a soccer team that plays a block from his house. he's got two little kids and wants to stay home more i guess, not spend months in london every year. sounds like s2 is scheduled to start production next month.

[TC]

Tenet - believe what you hear on this one. what a train wreck. it's like nolan set out to prove that just because a movie is very "smart" doesn't mean it should also be enjoyable. felt like the entire first 30 min was exposition - meeting after meeting of talking and talking, setting up what was going to be happening without the context of any of it actually happening yet, so by the time it happened, you had forgotten what the fuck was supposed to be happening. also, perhaps most importantly, yet another nolan movie where the mix is fucking awful. lots of different accents, with dialog very low in the mix, and "action" and music punching you in the fucking face. even my kids were complaining they couldn't understand what was being said. it was bad enough that we gave up and had to turn on subtitles after 15 min. i'm not going to (entirely) blame the acting, like it seems most people are - the writing was just terrible. stilted, wooden - like i said, it was clearly a "smart" movie, but felt like reading a textbook, or like nolan was just doing things because he liked the way they looked, he'd figure out something to write under it later. the entire last set piece felt unnecessarily over-wrought, like he was really trying to be overly-clever but just turned everything into a jumbled mess to further punish the audience, for anyone still trying to pay attention. as for the concept, i didn't think it was impregnable. it seemed pretty straight forward at a high level, and very interesting. which is what makes the movie even more irritating - it had potential on paper, but execution on this was bad all around. really not in any way enjoyable, beyond practical effects and stunts, and i wanted to like it.

[TC]

Defending Jacob - another AppleTV+ limited series. based on a novel i haven't read, starring chris evans as the lead. lots of great acting across the board. great appearance by JK Simmons. really a gut punch of a story for anyone with kids, with a ball kick ending. recommended.

[_Marcus_]

Death to 2020 (Netflix)

After a year like this, don't end it with this garbage fire of rejected SNL ideas, awful "satire" and random celebs thrown in for no good reason what so ever.

Death to Death to 2020.

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sounds exactly like what i imagined it would be. hard pass. SNL has sucked enough on its own.

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The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart - this was fucking great. really was. some context to what most view as a pretty simple and straight-forward family capitalizing on disco. not at all what these guys were. and some fantastic studio footage from the time of recording, which was wonderful to see. it shows them doing the drum loop for Saturday night, hopefully giving people that didn’t know a better appreciation for productions back then. goes from their start in the ‘50s through present day. recommended.

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Cobra Kai - now that it's finally on a platform i have, figured i'd toss on an episode to see if it held up to the hype. four hours later and i've watched the first 8 episodes. it's so good. a delicious dose of nostalgia served up on a current-day plate, and it's beyond enjoyable. anxious to see if this holds up over another season.

i kind of wish they had just left kreese dead. him showing up broke the daniel/johnny dynamic that was so pitch perfect for the show. the kreese story line, with him pushing kobra kai to be "evil" or whatever, was useful, but i just don't give a fuck about kreese and hope they don't make him lead #3 next season.

ok, i was wrong. S3 was fucking awesome. came together pretty great. the show is so ridiculous that it’s great. already can’t wait for s4.